Science-Backed Physio for Neck Pain
If your neck feels stiff, sore, or restricted, and it’s starting to affect your sleep, work, or mood, physiotherapy for neck pain can help you find out why and what to do about it. At Bangalow Headache Neck & Jaw Clinic, we treat neck pain for people across the Northern Rivers and North Coast, from short-term strain to pain that’s been hanging around for months.
Neck pain physio isn’t just a rub and a stretch. It starts with identifying exactly which joint, muscle, or nerve is behind your symptoms, then treating that specific area with hands-on techniques suited to your body and history. If your pain came on gradually from long days at a desk or suddenly after an accident, our approach is the same: find the actual cause, then build a plan around it.
How We Assess & Treat Neck Pain
Physio for neck pain at our clinic starts with a detailed, hands-on assessment of the joints in your neck. Rather than treating your neck as one unit, we test each segment to find which are moving properly and which aren’t, and how that connects to your pain.
Once we know what’s involved, treatment usually includes:
- Manual therapy to the upper cervical segments: Slow, sustained hands-on pressure to ease stiffness and reduce irritation in the joints and surrounding tissue.
- Movement retraining: Helping you move your neck through its full range again, without guarding or compensating.
- Postural correction: Addressing the habits and positions (desk setup, screen height, sleeping position) that keep loading up the same areas.
- A home program: Simple exercises and stretches you do between sessions to keep progress moving, rather than relying on appointments alone.
We don’t rely on forceful manipulation or cracking. Our neck physio approach is deliberately gentle and precise, using slow, controlled pressure to test and treat each area.
Safe & Fast
All techniques involve targeted, slow and sustained pressure. There is NO manipulation (cracking) of the spine.
Effective
80% of people assessed have treatable and relevant dysfunction. Most of these will see significant changes in the first two weeks.
100% Natural
No drugs, needles, toxic chemicals or side-effects. Just correcting a previously misunderstood fault in biomechanics.
Types of Neck Pain We Treat
Neck pain doesn’t feel the same for everyone, and the type of pain you’re experiencing gives us useful clues about the cause and shapes our physio for neck pain treatment plan.
A dull, aching tightness, often across the base of the neck and into the shoulders. Usually linked to posture, fatigue, or overuse rather than an injury.
A sudden, sharp tightening that can make it hard to turn your head at all. Often comes on quickly, sometimes after sleeping awkwardly or a sudden movement.
A localised ache on one side of the neck that worsens with certain movements, particularly tilting the head back or turning it. Comes from the small joints that link each vertebra.
Sharp or shooting pain that can travel from the neck down into the shoulder, arm, or hand, sometimes with pins and needles or numbness. This points to irritation of a nerve root rather than the muscles alone.
Pain and stiffness following a car accident, fall, or sporting knock, which can take a day or two to fully set in.
A gradual build-up of stiffness and aching linked to long hours at a screen, poor desk setup, or looking down at a phone for extended periods.
Pain that starts at the base of the skull and spreads into the head, often on one side. This is one of the most common and most overlooked forms of neck pain.
When Your Neck is Causing Other Symptoms
The top of your neck sits right next to the nerves and brainstem structures involved in headaches. When the joints here become restricted or irritated, that irritation can refer to pain up into the head, often felt as a one-sided headache starting at the base of the skull.
This is different from a typical tension headache, though the two can feel similar. If your headaches seem linked to your neck, our cervicogenic headache page covers this in detail, including how we test for it and what treatment involves. Stress and prolonged poor posture can also contribute, which is where a tension headache diagnosis comes in instead.
Dizziness that comes and goes alongside neck pain, particularly with certain head positions or after prolonged poor posture, can sometimes be linked to dysfunction in the upper neck rather than the inner ear. Our dizziness treatment page explains how we tell the difference and what testing looks like.
The neck, jaw, and shoulders work as a connected system, so problems in one area often show up in another. Jaw clicking, tightness, or pain can sometimes trace back to dysfunction higher up in the neck. We can pair your neck physiotherapy with jaw pain treatment once we find out the root issue.
What Causes Neck Pain
Your head weighs around 5kg when held upright, but that effective load can climb to close to 27kg when your neck is bent forward for long periods, such as looking down at a phone or screen. That extra strain, repeated daily, is one of the most common contributors to neck pain we see.
Beyond posture, neck pain usually comes from one or a combination of the following:
- Poor posture, particularly a forward head position from desk work or phone use
- Muscle strain from overuse, sudden movement, or sleeping in an awkward position
- Joint restriction or stiffness in the cervical spine
- Whiplash or trauma from an accident, fall, or sporting injury
- Nerve irritation or compression, sometimes causing referred symptoms in the arm
- Degenerative changes in the neck that develop over time
- Stress, which often shows up as tension in the neck and shoulders
Because so many things can cause neck pain, an accurate assessment matters more than guessing at the cause based on symptoms alone.
Why See a Physiotherapist
Most neck pain comes down to a mechanical problem: a joint that isn’t moving properly, a muscle compensating for it, or a nerve being irritated as a result.
These are physical, structural issues, which is why hands-on assessment and treatment tend to make more difference than rest or medication alone. A physio for neck pain looks specifically at how your neck moves and where it isn’t working as it should, then treats the underlying issues directly rather than just managing the pain around it.
When to See a Physio for Your Neck
It’s a good idea to book a neck physio assessment if you notice any of the following:
- Pain lasting more than a week without improvement
- Pain that wakes you at night or disrupts your sleep
- Headaches or dizziness alongside your neck pain
- Pain, numbness, or pins and needles travelling into your arm or hand
- Neck pain following a car accident or fall, even if it feels mild at first
A small number of neck symptoms need urgent medical attention rather than physiotherapy. If you experience sudden, severe neck pain with fever, unexplained weight loss, weakness in your arms or legs, or loss of bladder or bowel control, see a doctor straight away.
What Happens at Your First Appointment
Your first appointment runs for about an hour and follows four steps:
- History and questioning: We ask about your symptoms, how and when they started, what makes them better or worse, and any previous treatment you’ve tried.
- Hands-on examination: We test each joint in your neck individually to find exactly where the restriction or irritation is coming from. We also screen for anything that points to a different kind of care being needed.
- Reproducing and easing your symptoms: Where possible, we aim to bring on a version of your usual pain during the neck pain physio assessment, then use treatment techniques to ease it in the same session. This helps confirm we’ve found the right cause.
- Your treatment plan: You’ll leave with a clear plan, including our findings, proposed steps going forward on focus areas, and what you can do at home before your next visit.
Why Choose Our Clinic for Neck Pain
Michael Hayward has over 34 years of clinical experience and is a Level 3 Watson Headache® Certified Practitioner. He has completed specific training in the cervical spine with Trudy Rebeck, Barb Hungerford, and Loren Rex (‘Bear’), alongside international training in TMJ and craniofacial pain with Professor Mariano Rocabado and Mark Latimer.
This depth of training means neck pain is assessed properly the first time, particularly when it’s connected to headaches, dizziness, or jaw symptoms rather than being a standalone issue.
100% natural, no cracking or injections
Our treatment for neck pain doesn’t involve spinal manipulation, cracking, injections, or medication. We use slow, controlled pressure to test and treat each area of the neck, so you know what to expect and why we’re doing it.
Treat Your Neck Pain Today
You don’t have to put up with living with ongoing neck pain or wait for it to settle on its own. At Bangalow Headache Neck & Jaw Clinic, we take the time to find out what’s actually driving your pain and build a plan to address the cause.
We also track your progress closely, so if we’re not seeing meaningful change within the first 4 to 5 sessions, we’ll reassess and talk you through the right next steps rather than asking you to keep committing to appointments.
Get in touch with our team today to book your physiotherapy assessment for neck pain.
We also treat...
Our experts treat a number of headache and jaw pain issues, and have a high level of knowledge and experience with any pain you may be suffering from.
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Physio for Neck Pain FAQs
It depends on how long you’ve had the pain and what’s causing it. Many people notice a change within the first few neck physio sessions, and we track your progress closely so you know it’s working, rather than committing to an open-ended number of visits.
Treatment aims to address the underlying cause for lasting relief, not just ease symptoms temporarily. Ongoing factors like posture or workstation setup can contribute to symptoms returning, which is why our physio for neck pain also covers self-management alongside hands-on treatment.
Usually not. Most neck pain can be assessed through a physical examination. If we suspect something that needs imaging or further investigation, we’ll refer you to your GP.
Yes. Headaches linked to the upper neck are one of the areas we assess most often. We test whether your neck is contributing to your headaches and treat that specifically, rather than only managing the headache itself.
No referral is needed to book an appointment. You’re welcome to see us directly, and we’ll let you know if we think input from your GP or another practitioner would help your recovery.
Helping Countless Clients Find a Pain-Free Path Forward
There is no one-size-fits-all cure for cervicogenic headaches, but treatment is possible. At Bangalow Headache Neck & Jaw Clinic, we help you uncover the root cause and create a tailored plan for long-term relief.
Stop living with pain – book an appointment at our Bangalow Headache Clinic today.
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